Rail-joint.



No. 765,585. PATENTED JULY 19, 1904.

W. D. WILLIAMS.

RA OINT.

APPLIOATIO 1m APR. 9, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

Fig. 1.

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UNITED STATES Patented July 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIS D. WILLIAMS, OF KIRKLAND, ARIZONA TERRITORY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. M. CLARK, OF WAGONER, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 765,535, dated July 19, 1904. Application filed April 9, 1904. Serial No. 202,456. (No model.)

I citizen of the United States, residing at Kirkland, in the county of Yavapai, Arizona Territory, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail-joints, the object of the invention being to provide what may be termed a boltless rail-joint, or, in other words, one in which the usual bolts are dispensed with and the adjacent rail ends securely clamped between the oppositely-low cated parts of the joint, the joint members being so constructed, arranged, and disposed with relation to each other and to the rail ends that any weight, such as that of a moving train, imposed upon the rails adjacent to the joint will have the effect of causing the parts of the joint to firmly grip the rail ends and prevent any relative vertical, lateral, or longitudinal movement of the same.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a rail-joint embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssection through the same, showing the opposubstantially straight joint, as shown at 2, or on a beveled or mitered joint, as shown at 3. The rail-joint contemplated in this invention comprises a base-plate 4, which is adapted to straddle and rest upon adjacent ties 5 and be secured thereto by means of the usual spikes 6. At one side a brace 7 extends upward from the base-plate and is shaped on its inner face to correspond with the side contour of the rail ends, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so as to form an eflicient support for the rail ends at one side.

At the opposite side the base-plate 4 is provided with an upwardly projecting backstop 8, having a slanting inner surface 9, which is set slightly oblique to a vertical plane for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The back-stop or bracing-shoulder is cut away, as shown at 10, to provide slots for the reception of a corresponding number of flanges or reinforcements 11, which extend outward and downward from a presser-block 12, which in operative position, has its outer face set at a slightly-inclined angle with respect to a vertical plane and the inner face thereof shaped to conform to the adjacent and contacting side of the rail ends, as clearly shown in the sectional view, the said block being so shaped as to bear firmly against the base-flange, web, and under side of the railhead. 7 The lower extremities of the flanges or reinforcements 11 terminate in the same plane with the bottom of the base-plate, and therefore rest directly upon the upper surface of the ties 5, the latter thus serving to hold the presser-block in proper position. While the lower extremities of the flanges are practically flush with the bottom of the base-plate 4, a slight space may be left under the lower ends of the flanges, so as to provide for a slight downward movement of the presser-block under the weight of a train passing over the joint.

From the foregoing description it will be seen thatthe presser-block is held in proper relation to the back-stop by means of the flanges 11 and that by reason of the wedging action between the presser-block .and backstop due to the disposition of the inclined meeting shoulders of the block and back-stop when pressure in a downward direction is applied to the rail ends adjacent to the joint the tendency is to crowd the presser-block downward, such downward movement being accompanied by the crowding inward of the block in firmer clamping engagement with the rail ends. Thus the greater the weight imposed on the rail ends the firmer will said ends be clamped between the presser-block and the oppositely-lying brace 7. By preference theward therefrom at one side of the rail ends,

a back-stop extending upward from the baseplate at the opposite side of the rail ends, and a presser-block having a wedging fit between the rail ends and back-stop and provided with outwardly projecting flanges which engage the back-stop.

2. The combination with rail ends, of a joint comprising a base-plate, a brace extending upward therefrom and engaging the rail ends at one side, a back-stop extending upward from the base-plate at the opposite side of the rail ends, and provided with one or more slots, and a presser-block having a wedging fit between the back-stop and rail ends and provided with one or more flanges which are received in the slot or slots in the back-stop.

3. The combination with rail ends, of a joint comprising a base-plate extending beneath the rail ends and resting on adjacent ties, a brace extending upward from the base-plate and engaging the rail ends at one side, a back-stop extending upward from the base-plate at the opposite side of the rail ends, and a presserblock having a wedging fit between the backstop and rail ends and provided with outwardly-extending flanges which engage the back-stop and also engage the ties.

4. The combination with rail ends, of a joint comprising a base-plate passing under the rail ends, a brace extending upward from the baseplate and engaging the rail ends at one side, a back-stop extending upward from the base at the opposite side of the rail ends and provided with a slanting shoulder, and a presserblock fitting between the back-stop and rail ends and provided with a slanting shoulderwhich engages the slanting shoulder of the back-stop for crowding the presser-block toward the rail ends when weight is imposed thereon, said presserblock being provided with outwardly-extending flanges which engage the back-stop and also rest in contact with the ties.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in Witnesses:

JOHN W. PHIPPS, H. S. WOODRUFF. 

